Airline on time performance sees improvement in September

The on-time performance of airlines in the U.S. improved in September, as did baggage handling, although there was a higher rate of domestic cancellations reported for the month, as compared to September of 2007, the Department of Transportation (DOT) reported on Friday.

Hawaiian Airlines ranked first in on-time performance for the month, while Comair, the regional subsidiary of Delta Air Lines had the worst.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the transportation department has reported an average on-time arrival rate for September of 84.9 percent, as compared with the 81.7 percent reported the same month last year and the 78.4 percent reported in August of this year.

According to the bureau, in September the airlines reporting cancelled 1.8 percent of scheduled domestic flights, up from the 1.1 percent reported for the same month in 2007 and the 1.6 percent reported in August of this year. September saw two hurricanes, Gustav and Ike, make landfall in the U.S., contributing to the increase in flight cancellations.

Overall, the carriers recorded 3.86 bags per 1,000 passengers mishandled during the month of September, which showed an improvement over September of 2007, when the rate was 5.36 per 1,000 and August, when the reported occurrence was 4.98 bags per 1,000 passengers.

www.dot.gov